What exactly is "hard money"?
It's a real estate loan you get from a non-traditional hard money lender, secured by the property and not by you. Hard money interest rates range from 14% to 20%.
The lender also charges "points", which can range from 1 to 5.

Why would someone use hard money?
Because these lenders are concerned about the property you're buying, and not about you as a person. Typically, lenders will loan you up to 65% of the after-repaired value of the property.

The profit of using hard money instead of bank financing is if you buy a deal that is deserving 65% or less of the after-repaired value of the property, you can get into the deal for no money down. The lenders are not pertain about your credit rating! They are much easier to work with than banks.

Important Information
The credit markets seem to be returning to normal. The London Interbank Offered Rate — or Libor — a widely relied upon measure of bank-to-bank lending rates, is now well below the record high it hit after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy last fall. Hard Money Association